Variables in Global Markets

Variables in Global Markets

Author Note

This paper was prepared By Sara Jones for BUS4016 - Global Business Relationships-Capella University

There are two major variables which are the driving force behind the outsourcing of legal services, low cost and efficiency. The closing case in our text states that hourly legal rates are five times cheaper in India than in the United States (Hill, 2013). This low cost allows them to allocate more money into the company’s core business activities. In addition, the legal outsourcing allows the company to focus efforts on the core business processes.

Legal outsourcing is also advantageous because of the availability to utilize the different time zones. In regards to legal firms outsourcing, for instance, a U.S. legal firm is able to work on cases by day, and by night a legal team in India can work on them and provide a different perspective on the case (Simon 2013). By utilizing the time-zone differences, legal firms can become more efficient and even gain a competitive edge. Both low cost and efficiency are also the main driving forces behind outsourcing other services.

A U.S. company could have to re-learn how to manage regarding their outsourced services. This could be because of several reasons including issues with cross cultural communication and issues with cross-cultural organizational structures and hierarchies. Issues with cross cultural communication include language barriers. However, this usually is not an issue between the U.S. and India because most educated Indians speak English. A company would need to study the cultural communication differences between them and the country in which they outsource too and determine the best avenues for communication, in addition the company would need to study cultural sensitivity.

Issues with cross-cultural organizational structures and hierarchies include the distance of power. Each country’s culture is unique, and therefore each country has a different standard for organizational structures and hierarchies. Some countries are more formal than others. Therefore it is important for a company to study the country’s organizational culture and learn how to successfully manage the outsourced services within that unique culture.

In regards to the closing case in our text, I feel that U.S. legal firms and businesses outsourcing legal services to India, I consider this good practice